So where to start with making this dish successfully at home? The clams, of course. I always say that, like how Inuits have something like 40 different words for different types of snow, people from my home state of Rhode Island have at least 5 different words for clams. You have quahogs (no, it's not just where The Griffins live), steamers, little necks, cherry stones, and a whole variety of other types of clams. Most of these are not appropriate for use in Linguine and Clams, so be careful. You want the "littleneck" variety - clams that tend to fall on the small side of Clamdom. At this size, they are sweet and not too chewy (unlike their quahog cousins... er... older brothers). About one pound will be enough for two people, however I like to "augment" the amout of clams. We'll get to that in the body of the recipe.
Next you want to assess your pasta situation. How many people are you serving? I generally make all my dishes for two - and if I'm eating alone I have some for lunch or dinner the next day. That leaves us with less than half a pound of pasta. I would say somewhere between one quarter and one third of a one pound box is fine for two people. Balance is key, too much pasta and you may as well not even bother making clams to put on top of it in the first place, too little and nobody is full after they eat... and you probably won't have a back-up pasta if that happens.
So the dish is called Linguine and Clams, so what else is there? Well, olive oil for starters. I usually buy a really fragrant one from Trader Joe's called Martinis' Kalamata Extra Version Olive Oil, but if there's no Trader's in your area Colavita generally makes a good product and is widely distributed. Try to buy something that smells like olives and cut grass. If it doesn't, save it for what I like to call "industrial" uses: oiling my cast iron and wooden cutting board. Store your oil out of the sunlight, as this will make it go rancid faster. I used to make the mistake of trying to be pretentious and storing high-quality olive oil on a counter where everyone could see it. It worked, however when it came to everyone tasting it, the oil was sub-par. Plenty of garlic is a cornerstone of this dish. I find lately that garlic from the farmers market tastes more...I don't know... "garlicky" than the ones from the store. It's up to you. I still use store garlic when the farmer's market's not around. You'll also need fresh parsley, preferably Italian Flatleaf. I've been growing this parsely nearly every year since childhood, it's extraordinarly easy to grow and you'll always have just the amount you need available for use. The plastic packages at the grocery store are usually too much for one recipe, then by the time you get around to needing more... you know. Some people like chili flakes in this dish, feel free to add them in along with garlic. Now, the moment you've all been waiting for:
Linguine with White Clam Sauce (Linguine alle Vongole)
- 1/2 pound pasta. Please do not use whole wheat brown pasta in this recipe. There's an inherent wrong-ness to it when used in classic Italian dishes, and you're really not saving that many carbs by picking it over regular varieties.
- About 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil.
- 2 medium or large cloves of garlic, minced.
- One small onion, or half of a medium sized onion, diced. Any type of onion you have on hand is fine.
- (optional) One or two teaspoons of chili flakes.
- Liberal amounts of fresh ground black pepper.
- One pound of littleneck clams with shells, scrubbed clean.
- One can of chopped clams (we've always used Snows), drained.
- A handful of chopped fresh Italian Flatleaf parsley.
Start boiling the water right away. Waiting for water to boil is always the big hold up. You can use liberal amounts of salt in the water if you'd like. Nearly every television/celebrity chef puports the notion that all Italians use insane amounts of table salt in their pasta water. While this does have a mild impact on flavor, it also promotes hypertension. In this recipe, the clams are salty enough. I usually skip salting the pasta water. While you're waiting for the water, get the garlic and onion nice and golden over medium-high heat in the olive oil. Add black pepper and chili flakes at this point too - their flavors will infuse into the oil and that's a good thing. Start the linguine boiling, you're going to want it on the hard side of al dente, as they're going to keep cooking later on.When their just golden, add in the raw clams (shell and all) and the canned clams, give it a stir, lower the heat to a little on the low side of medium and cover the pan.
After about 10 minutes, check the clams. The majority of them should be open. If any are still shut well past their peers, throw them away. There is such a thing as a bad clam. This is where the right way to make this dish differs wildly from the standard American way. Do not drain the pasta in a colander. I repeat: do not drain the pasta in a colander. Get a pair of tongs and take the pasta out of the boiling water and put it directly into the pan with the simmering clam sauce. Give it all a swirl and let it simmer for about another 5 minutes or so - long enough for the pasta to finish cooking to a perfect al dente state. Toss the parsley onto the finished dish and you're done. I serve it hot right out of the pan because I'm lazy. You can add the parsely after you've transferred it to a serving bowl if you're trying to impress someone. There. Not as hard as they make it look over at that Italian place, huh?
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